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IMDbPro

Carl Mayer(1894-1944)

  • Writer
  • Script and Continuity Department
  • Additional Crew
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Carl Meyer was the son of a stock speculator who committed suicide. He had to leave school at 15 to work as a secretary. Mayer moved away from Graz to Innsbruck and then Vienna, where he worked as a dramatist. Meanwhile, the events of the First World War turned him into a pacifist.

In 1917 he went to Berlin, where he worked at the small Residenztheater. He befriended Gilda Langer, the leading actress of the theatre and probably fell in love with her. He was tired of his job at the theatre when he wrote the script for "Das Kabinett des Doktor Caligari" (1920) together with Hans Janowitz. It is thought that Gilda Langer was supposed to star in the movie, but she suddenly engaged herself with director Paul Czinner and then died unexpectedly early in 1920. Mayer took care of her tombstone and notes from Wagner's "Tristan and Isolde" were engraved in it (this was found out by Olaf Brill who rediscovered the tombstone in 1995).

"Das Kabinett" made Mayer famous and soon he was a leading film writer, working with the best directors in Germany. He worked with F.W. Murnau on "Der Letzte Man" (1924, known as "The Last Laugh" in the USA) and he also wrote the scenario for Murnau's "Sunrise" (1927). But he was a perfectionist who worked slowly and this frequently resulted in conflicts or financial trouble.

Being a Jew as well as a pacifist, he had to flee Germany in 1933 after the Nazis came to power. He went to England, where he worked as an adviser to the British film industry. In London he became friends with director Paul Rotha.

In 1942 he was diagnosed with cancer. Near the end of his life he wanted to make a documentary on London, but due to anti-German sentiments he was unable to find a producer. His illness was maltreated and he died in 1944, poor and almost forgotten. All he left was 23 pounds and two books. He was buried at Highgate Cemetery and his epitaph reads 'Pioneer in the art of the cinema. Erected by his friends and fellow workers.' The city of Graz named a prize after him.
BornNovember 20, 1894
DiedJuly 1, 1944(49)
BornNovember 20, 1894
DiedJuly 1, 1944(49)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
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Known for:

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
8.0
  • Writer
  • 1920
Janet Gaynor, Margaret Livingston, and George O'Brien in Sunrise (1927)
Sunrise
8.1
  • Writer
  • 1927
F.W. Murnau and Emil Jannings in The Last Laugh (1924)
The Last Laugh
8.0
  • Writer
  • 1924
Emil Jannings in Danton (1921)
Danton
6.7
  • Writer
  • 1921

Credits

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IMDbPro

Writer

  • Denis Grüring in Parlez-moi de Vous (2016)
    Parlez-moi de Vous
    • characters
    • TV Series
    • 2023
  • The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (2005)
    The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
    • story
    • 2005
  • Der träumende Mund (1953)
    Der träumende Mund
    • original
    • 1953
  • The Fourth Estate: A Film of a British Newspaper
    • Writer
    • 1940
  • Elisabeth Bergner in Dreaming Lips (1937)
    Dreaming Lips
    • adapted by
    • 1937
  • As You Like It (1936)
    As You Like It
    • adaptation (uncredited)
    • 1936
  • Pierre Blanchar, Victor Francen, and Gaby Morlay in The Dreamy Mouth (1932)
    The Dreamy Mouth
    • Writer
    • 1932
  • Elisabeth Bergner in Melo (1932)
    Melo
    • Writer
    • 1932
  • Leni Riefenstahl in The Blue Light (1932)
    The Blue Light
    • Writer (uncredited)
    • 1932
  • Elisabeth Bergner in Ariane (1931)
    Ariane
    • Writer
    • 1931
  • The Loves of Ariane
    • Writer
    • 1931
  • Der Mann, der den Mord beging (1931)
    Der Mann, der den Mord beging
    • dialogue
    • 1931
  • Storm Over Mont Blanc (1930)
    Storm Over Mont Blanc
    • Writer (uncredited)
    • 1930
  • Albert Bassermann, Elisabeth Bergner, Paul Czinner, Grit Hegesa, Else Heller, Adele Sandrock, Arthur Schnitzler, Albert Steinrück, and Jack Trevor in Fräulein Else (1929)
    Fräulein Else
    • Writer (uncredited)
    • 1929
  • Nancy Drexel, Mary Duncan, Janet Gaynor, J. Farrell MacDonald, Charles Morton, and Barry Norton in 4 Devils (1928)
    4 Devils
    • scenario
    • 1928

Script and Continuity Department

  • Wendy Hiller in Major Barbara (1941)
    Major Barbara
    • script advisor (uncredited)
    • 1941
  • Leslie Howard in Pygmalion (1938)
    Pygmalion
    • script advisor (uncredited)
    • 1938

Additional Crew

  • Billy Wilder, Fritz Rasp, Allan Gray, Käthe Haack, Erich Kästner, Gerhard Lamprecht, Inge Landgut, Hans Joachim Schaufuß, Günther Stapenhorst, and Rolf Wenkhaus in Emil and the Detectives (1931)
    Emil and the Detectives
    • story consultant (uncredited)
    • 1931

Personal details

Edit
  • Height
    • 5′ 1¾″ (1.57 m)
  • Born
    • November 20, 1894
    • Graz, Styria, Austria-Hungary [now Austria]
  • Died
    • July 1, 1944
    • London, England, UK(cancer)
  • Other works
    John Moran' stage adaptation of Hans Janwitz and his play, "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari," was performed in a world premiere American Repertory Theatre production at the Loeb Stage in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Bob McGrath was director. Laurie Olinder and Fred Tietz were set designers. Catherine Zuber was costume designer. Howard S. Thies was lighting designer. Anthony Chase was films designer. Robert Brustein was artistic director.
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Article

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    He was responsible for writing exceptional pictures such as "The Last Laughter" and "Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans", both produced in collaboration with legendary Director F.W. Murnau. Their partnership is widely regarded by critics as one of the key Writer/Director partnerships in the History of the Moving Image.
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